In some instances, abdominal aortic aneurism repair is accomplished by implanting a bifurcated stent graft that includes a combined flow path portion that spans the aneurism, and a pair of leg portions that are respectively received in the left and right iliac arteries. Although these devices have performed well for many years, researchers have observed at least one major drawback can result in an increased risk of long term complications for a patient. In particular, it is believed that blood flow dynamics, especially in the vicinity of the bifurcation of the stent graft, can cause blood cell damage and blood protein conformational changes that can lead to complications. In most applications, the bifurcation consists of a saddle area where the stent graft portions for the two iliac arteries are joined.
The present disclosure is directed toward one or more of the problems set forth above.